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Patricia Snow Bradbury of East Bridgewater, Timothy Hay of West Bridgewater and Peter “The Soupman” Kelleher of Bridgewater to be honored at Oct. 22 reception

BRIDGEWATER — The Rotary Club of the Bridgewaters named its three “Citizens of the Year” in September, and honored the three during a weekend event.

The annual award, now in its 19th year, celebrates people who have made an outstanding contribution to their communities, explained Bruce Marquis, who chairs the club’s award committee. “It’s amazing, the people you uncover that you’ve never heard of through this process, and the amazing things they do,” Marquis said.

This year’s winners are Patricia Snow Bradbury, who has run an East Bridgewater dance studio for more than five decades; Timothy Hay, a volunteer who serves on many West Bridgewater town committees; and Peter Kelleher, better known as “The Soupman” of Bridgewater. The club solicited nominations in August, Marquis explained, and his committee chose one winner from each town. The three will be feted at an Oct. 22 reception at Sachem Rock Farm in East Bridgewater.

Peter Kelleher launched his nonprofit “Support the Soupman” to help the homeless after losing his son, Travis, to an overdose in 2016. Nowadays, he has a lot on his plate — from a bus full of boots to a new corporate venture.

A bus with “sole” — lots of soles, actually

Peter Kelleher wanted to create a mobile pantry where he could not only hand out warm winter gear to the homeless, but food as well.

He approached Lucini Transportation in West Bridgewater, who gave him a school bus to convert. That bus was then filled with thousands of boots, thanks to a donation by the Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation, Kelleher said.

He plans on counting inventory to see what they have in terms of sizes and total number of boots, he said, but he estimated that there are about 1,000 to 1,500 pairs.

BRIDGEWATER – Peter Kelleher helps the homeless by handing out soup and backpacks full of essentials. He sees it not so much as a cause as it is his reason for being. “It’s my dream, my purpose,” Kelleher said on a recent day at his home, where several friendly dogs milled about, some his own, most part of his dog-sitting business. “I won the lottery without money.”

Since last Thanksgiving, Kelleher, 56, has been cooking up huge pots of soup every Saturday – sandwiches will replace soup when it gets warmer – and driving them in his pickup truck all over Brockton, Quincy, and beyond to nourish homeless people. Over the winter, he also handed out backpacks stuffed with clothing like socks, hats, and gloves, all donated.

“Whatever the homeless did to become homeless,” he said, “doesn’t mean they deserve to be cold.”

He says he was driven to this weekly act of kindness by the crushing sadness he experienced: His son Travis, 32, was homeless when he died of a drug overdose in Maine in 2016.

“I tried, he tried,” Kelleher said of the back-and-forth struggle between parent and child familiar to anyone who has lived it. “I knew I was going to get that call, and I did. My life will never be the same, but I’m the same as everyone else who’s had to deal with this.”

The Soup Man, also known as Peter Kelleher of Bridgewater, delivers homemade soup and care packages of clothing, winter items and toiletries to homeless people each weekend. He does this in memory of his son, Travis, who was homeless and died of a drug overdose, at age 32, in 2016.

BRIDGEWATER – Charlotte Stevens saw homeless people huddled on the roadside as she drove through Brockton, and thought of her brother.

Arthur “Joey” Myatt III, Stevens’ brother, had been homeless, abused alcohol and drugs and died in 2014 when he was trying to cross the street, intoxicated, and was struck by a car.

“The family tried everything to help Joey over the years,” Stevens said. “But as you probably know, addiction can be a black hole.”

Stevens knew she wanted to help people in her brother’s memory. So she picked up her crochet needles and began to creates scarves and hats. Wanting to donate them to homeless people in Brockton, she searched online for the proper avenue when she came across an article about a “Soup Man.” The Soup Man, also known as Peter Kelleher of Bridgewater, delivers homemade soup and care packages of clothing, winter items and toiletries to homeless people in Brockton each weekend. He does this in memory of his son, Travis Kelleher, who was homeless and died of a drug overdose, at 32, in 2016.